As for the technical aspects of it, the camera outshines most of its competitors, including from its own line.

Note: It is a great choice for an enthusiast photographer who is familiar with the theory and practice of photography. Without doubt, in the skillful hands, the Nikon D7100 can become an awesome working tool for creating masterpieces.

Here is what to expect in this review besides a number of specs and features:

a video review

a few photo samples to judge this DSLR for yourself,

how to set up Nikon D7100, and,

what are our lens recommendations based on your photography genre.

Let’s get started.

Nikon D7100 Review 2018 (Video)

Let’s start with an in-depth video-review (17+ mins long).

Quick specs:

Camera type: Mid-size SLR camera

Camera weight: 780 g

How many pixels: 16 MP

Sensor size: APS-C (23.6 x 15.7 mm)

ISO: Auto, 100-6400 (25600 with boost)

Articulated LCD: Fixed

Touchscreen: None

Environmentally sealed: Yes (Weather and dust resistant)

What you might like about this camera:

ergonomics aspect is at its best

excellent for landscape photography

good color rendition

the sensor is 24.71 Mp

absense of low-pass frequency filter (means higher image detail)

What you might not like about this camera:

noise makes itself felt at a modest ISO value of 400-1000

small size of the buffer (which might be an issue for professionals or hybrid shooters)

A Few General Points about Nikon D7100

You may be wondering:

“What’s the big deal with Nikon D7100, especially in 2018?”

Many experienced photographers will agree that D7100 is one of the coolest camera out of the crops.

Most people may never take advantage of certain features, but for an advanced enthusiast, it’s exactly what’s needed.

In many ways it’s similar to its predecessor D7000, which was and remains a great camera. If you already have a D7000, then upgrading to D7100 doesn’t really make sense.

In any case, do upgrade if you feel your current camera restricts you.

So, what can we say about this DSLR?

First of all, D7100 has a 24 megapixel resolution sensor, which sets quite high demands on lenses. In terms of its physical parameters, it’s a bit heavier and bigger than Nikon D5300 (review).

85.0mm · ƒ/5.6 · 10/5000s · ISO 800

However, it’s not the 24 MP sensor that stood out but the fact that Nikon engineers decided to remove the low-pass frequency filter in front of the sensor.

Basically, it adds sharpness to the image, with a risk of moiré on some periodic textures.

However, a moiré pattern is more hypothetical because in real life you are unlikely to encounter this effect.

An experiment without a filter was first carried out on Nikon D800E. The manufacturers realized that no one was experiencing any special problems and the sensor without the filter went to the masses in the form of D7100.

Another thing worth mentioning is the speed.

Despite its impressive resolution, this camera works extremely fast: its burst rate is 6 frames per second, which already allows you toshoot sports related events.

What About Its Autofocusing System?

Now:

“What about this Nikon’s autofocusing?”

The autofocus system has also been slightly modified. Now there are more focus points, which in theory should improve the focus accuracy on fast moving children.

In reality, you can’t really tell the difference since there were no problems with autofocus in D7000.

The autofocus zone occupies a significant area of the frame, and the autofocus itself works instantly. The mirrorless cameras look like sleepy snails in comparison with the D7100.

It’s also worth mentioning that just like in the previous model, the autofocus control is very convenient.

The switch modes AF-A, AF-S, AF-C make it easy to switch from a dynamic scene to a static one. Just like withmost Nikon digital cameras, this model also has a great ability to focus in low light conditions.

The Image Quality/Color Rendition in Nikon D7100

It gets better:

The image quality/color rendition in D7100.

The color rendition in Nikon cameras has historically been the object of envy for owners of other camera brands.

Even in the Canoner camp, there are ones who use a software/function called “Picture Style” to simulate Nikon into their cameras.

Anyway, I am positive that you will get excellent results on the D7100 in auto white balance mode.

If you shoot at sunset, you may want to move the cold tones (B) to the side so that the picture is not too yellow or red.

In general, if the lighting is complex and you are unhappy with the operation of the DSLR (which will be extremely rare), then adjust the white balance manually.

When shooting on a bright, sunny day, don’t forget to use a polarizing filter to get a better contrast of the sky with the clouds.

I assure you, you will want to shoot the sky with clouds because of the stunning colors that the D7100 gives out. They are bright, saturated, but at the same time natural.

In any case, work on portraits with further processing on the computer to add a bit of drama/romanticism.

Auto ISO now takes into account the focal length of the lens, which is very good. (Though, the presence of the stabilizer is for some reason ignored.)

In the auto-select settings for the minimum threshold, you can make a correction from -2 to +2 steps. That is, if by default on 105mm the Auto ISO considers the switching threshold 1/160s to be normal, then with the correction -1, it will be 1/80sec.

Normally, you can shoot on D7100 up to ISO 6400. At this value you start to see the noise but not to a point that it bothers you significantly.

A Few Other Features Worth Mentioning

Here are a few camera features that I feel are worth mentioning here :

1) You will like that there are 2 SD memory cards.

It will be useful if you have not decided yet whether you want to shoot in JPEG or RAW, because the camera can use different formats on different cards.

For all regular people who shoot in JPEG, the second card can be adapted either as a backup card, recording in parallel, or simply to increase the available buffer volume by recording sequentially.

Memory cards are very convenient to take out.

2) Presence of user modes U1 and U2, which together with the usual, is like having three cameras in one.

About Author

Zarina

Founder of Digital World Beauty website.
My purpose here is to provide easy-to-understand guides and reviews on digital technology to make YOUR life easier and help YOU make as informed of a decision as possible.

4 Comments

Johnnie Aussie

G’day,

I want to buy my first SLR camera to learn photography.

I really like the Nikon d7100 camera. I like the controls, ergonomics, and I don’t think there will be problems for me mastering it. The d7200 is a little expensive for me.

I am debating between D5500 18-140 and D7100 18-105. (The presence of an articulated touch screen is not that important for me.)

What do you think, is it still relevant to buy Nikon D7100 in 2018 after the release of D7200?

Thank you for sharing this info! Sometimes I forget to mention certain points (or other writers for this website), so it’s great when questions/additional points are made in the comments are.

Yeah, I won’t recommend D7200 and other newer versions, just because they are newer or more expensive. My main aim is to HELP beginners choose their best option. (And I try to do so in the simplest language possible.)